Death Ship Epilouge
by Tasha Grim
Summary: Mason, from the Twilight Zone episode 'Death Ship' gets a better ending. This is my friend's story, so all credit goes to her.


The twilight zone Death Ship epilogue

Lieutenant Theodore Mason was pacing his ship,The Space Cruiser E-89, wondering what was to become of them. They were probably going to crash, but he had insisted that they try and get back home to Earth. He had argued with the other two men about trying that stunt.

"No," said Captain Ross, "Abandon our mission? We can't."

"Listen to me, we are going nowhere floating in space." said Mason, "We've got to try...or starve."

The Captain gave it some thought. "You're right. Men! Get into your seats. We are going to land on Earth."

So they did, and the ship sped down, very quickly. Mason began to grow pale, and he couldn't breathe. The world became a blur. Just before he blacked out, there was a _thud _and sounds of sparking.

Mason groaned and woke up. Everything was a white blur. Mason blinked again. He sat up and realized how much his head hurt. Must have been quite a knock... Mason jerked upward. They crashed! Just like the duplicate ship! But wait...shouldn't he be dead? The lieutenant's vision slowly improved. Something wasn't right. There was a smell of antiseptics, antibiotics, and disinfectant. Something cord-like was pressed against his nose and ran around his face. Mason glanced around, and saw the cord on is face was attached to an oxygen tank. He then laid back and sighed, closing his eyes. He knew he was in the hospital. "Oh, thank God! He's awake!" Mason's eyes flew open. A petite figure was sitting by his wheeled hospital bed. He blinked again. The brunette stared down at him. "Teddy!" she exclaimed. "You-you're alive!" Mason couldn't believe his eyes. "Ruth?" he croaked. The woman smiled. "Yes, it's me." "But that...it's not possible! You're dead! You and Jeannie died in that car accident!" Ruth looked puzzled. "There was no car accident." Mason searched for a logical explanation. He remembered about the time travel discussion on the ship. When he crashed into Earth, he must have gone a year back. He turned to his wife. "What happened? Did I crash?" Ruth nodded. "Your spaceship crashed. You came back real early. Someone found it on fire and called an ambulance. The two other men are going home tomorrow. But, Theodore, you're very badly hurt. You've been unconscious for 16 hours. You injured your head and back. When I heard you were in surgery, I came here as quickly as I could." Mason glanced down at his left arm and chest. They were wired up with needles. He sighed and lied back down on the pillow. "Where's Jeannie?" "I'll call her." said Ruth. "Jeannie! Jeannie!" A little pale-haired girl came running into the room. "Daddy! You're all right! I was so worried about you. I missed you. Daddy, when are you coming home?" Mason let out a moan. His head and arm hurt, as did his back. His hospital bracelet was scratchy. He was so confused. "I don't know." Ruth patted his hand. "Just give it time, Ted. Just give it time." Mason closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep. Time was exactly the last thing he needed now.

Mason woke up the next day, exhausted. He'd half-expected to wake up and find that he was back on the ship, Ross scolding him for drifting off, telling him is wife and daughter were dead. But he was still in the hospital. Maybe the theory of time travel really did exist. Maybe he could even prevent the car crash from happening. Oh, he hoped so. He hoped God answered his prayers. Despite the hope in his soul, Mason still felt miserable. His head hurt and the room spun. His stomach was queasy. His back hurt like crazy. His papery hospital gown was itchy and uncomfortable. He was gasping for breath quite violently. Although his room had no mirror, except for the one by the wash stand, he was more than positive that he had a purple face. He was about to lie down and take a nap when Ruth entered the room. "Ted, darling, are you awake? Jeannie really wants to see you." "Yes, love," replied the lieutenant. "Do please send her in." The little 11 year old girl burst into the room and just about hopped onto his bed and kissed him. Her short fair hair fell over her eyes. "Daddy!" Mason was almost in tears. "Jeannie! Jeannie, my little kitty, do give Daddy a hug, will ya?" Jeannie unhesitatingly threw her arms around her father's neck and kissed him again. Then she hugged him tightly. Mason tried so hard not to cry but couldn't help it. He began to sob wildly. Jeannie's smile fell. "What's wrong, Daddy?" she asked. "Nothing, dear," he said between sobs. "It's just...I...I'm so glad to see you. I love you and missed you." "Why, Ted, is something wrong? You sound as though your heart is breaking. What is it?" asked Ruth. "Well, it's...it's...well, I don't know how to explain it." He told Ruth about his space adventure. His wife was amazed. "Theodore! You really thought I was dead? And Jeannie too?" "Darling," Mason said slowly. "I think I understand what happened. When I went into space, it was 1997. All right? It's at least 1996 right now, right?" Ruth looked puzzled. "Yes." she said slowly. "Right. So in training I learned that aliens have the power to affect space material so when they return, it's a year early or a year late. It's a year early. Now listen," he leaned into his wife's ear. "That car crash happened in 1997 on the highway. Please believe me. Don't go out then." Ruth patted his hand. "I won't, dear." She was puzzled at this, but was going to listen. Mason was clearly terrified. Jeannie was sitting by her father, gazing into his dark eyes. Mason stared at his little daughter in awe. He held her close. He was not going to leave her again on some stupid trumped up space mission. It was stupid to leave their families for eternity, if that long, to bring strange artifacts to Earth. Family was more important than space life. Besides, they could have died or floated in space forever and starved. They would have never seen Earth or their families and friends ever again. The thought made the 43 year old lieutenant shudder. Never, ever again would he leave his family and go into space to look for paranormal beings. He would become something else, an art dealer or even a deputy sheriff. As for space, he would only go if it was absolutely necessary. That interplanetary mission was just over a faraway planet that would not harm Earth: totally a waste of time. Coming back to the present, he kissed his daughter's head. He was very grateful to God. He remembered how on the Space Cruiser E-89 he had been praying to God to have mercy on their souls. He had answered. "Oh, God," he whispered, "Thank you. Thank you so much for bringing me back to my family."

The day passed rather quickly. Mason sat up in bed and spent the day with his wife and only child. He spoke of his love for Ruth and told jokes to Jeannie, making her blush. They talked and laughed until night fell and the nurse said if they didn't pipe down, she'd have to send the girls home. By then they were tired, but very happy. Ruth made herself comfortable in the loveseat and little Jeannie crawled under the covers on Mason's bed and fell asleep on her daddy's shoulder. Mason lied down and thought about his space adventure. Within minutes, he was asleep.

It took Mason nearly a month to recover, but, with love from his wife and daughter, he pulled through. When he was released, his wife cried and his daughter jumped for joy. "Daddy! You're coming home!" Mason's head slowly left the pillows as he sat up and looked into his daughter's eyes. "Yes, darling," he smiled, squeezing her little hand. "I'm coming home and I'm going to stay." "You mean you're giving up your space career?" asked Ruth. "Ruth, you and Jeannie mean more to me than anything that lurks in the celestial heavens. I'm going to stay, because I almost lost you all. I almost never came home. I almost _died._ I am going to find another job. I won't do space travel unless it's absolutely necessary." "Theodore," said Ruth quietly but joyfully, "Welcome home." Mason smiled as she and Jeannie left so he could change. The nurses had relieved him of the face cord and needlework, so he could move freely. He then emerged in a comfortable sweater, jeans, and tennis shoes. The girls hugged him. Jeannie smiled at him. "Ready to go home?" "Jeannie, darling, I'm always ready to go home." was his reply. So Ruth took them home and got Mason settled on the couch. He smiled at her. "You know, my love, it really feels good to be home." "It was very lonely without you." Ruth said back. Mason covered a yawn. "Well, like I said, you are more important than these silly missions." "Well, Ted, I'm glad you're back." she turned her back for a moment. "You know Ted, I was thinking...Theodore?" She turned to see the lieutenant had fallen asleep on the couch. She tucked the blanket around his shoulders and went upstairs to put Jeannie to bed.

So Mason made a full recovery and worked as a deputy sheriff. The space crew never called him back, and he hoped they never would. A year passed and true to her word Ruth stayed home. Sure enough, there was an accident, and the driver, who was drunk, was arrested. The victims, however, didn't survive. Ruth, Mason, and even little Jeannie thanked God for keeping them safe.

That night after Mason and Ruth tucked in Jeannie, they went outside and surveyed the starry night sky. "You know, Ruth," said Mason, "if there's anything I'm glad I discovered, it would be you." Ruth leaned on her husband's shoulder. "And the greatest discovery of my life was you and your love."

The end *****


End file.
